Mixed Berry Grunt

This dessert is a great example of how dumb I was as a child. I hated blueberries growing up. Maybe it was the sad blandness of cooked frozen blueberries in mediocre pancakes and muffins. Or maybe I never had a really good fresh blueberry before. Either way, until recently blueberries were avoided. I thought they were flavorless at best, overly soft and too sweet at worst. But like with so many other things (onions, sushi, girls) I was very, very wrong. Blueberries are amazing! Top quality blueberries are easily my favorite fruit, they’re tart with a hint of sweetness and a strangely rewarding texture. They’re also a “superfood” which yeah, I do care about… Anyway, I love blueberries now and wanted to incorporate them in an end of summer dessert recipe.

Apparently my grandfather also loves blueberries, and requested a blueberry-based dessert for his 85th birthday. His party was in Connecticut, and sadly I could not attend, but when I talked to my brother that day about what he was making for our grandpa, he told me “blueberry slop”. WTF is a slop? I had never heard of such a thing but despite the name I assumed it was delicious. After some light internet research and a few convos with my brother, who is a much better cook than I, I came up with this supremely easy recipe below.

The concept is easy. Break down the skins and tissue of some fruit (could be any fruit) in heat with sugar-water, and then top with a sturdy biscuit batter that will soak up the delicious syrup. You can get really creative with this type of template. I was tempted to add Grand Marnier to my rendition but forgot to grab some at the store. I added a fair amount of citrus to my grunt (same thing as a slop but better sounding), but also supplemented my blueberries with blackberries. Why? I don’t know, but it turned out to be an excellent decision. The blackberries didn’t fully explode like the blueberries did, and actually absorbed a lot of the blueberry juice. So I ended up with these delicious morsels of macerated blackberry soaked in blueberry and orange juice. Yum.

This dessert speaks for itself. I know summer is almost over but this is a super satisfying way to hold on to those dog days.

Mixed Berry Grunt

Print Recipe

This incredibly easy dessert of berries and biscuits is delicious and a great option for a night in with friends or family. A classic flavor combination that goes perfectly with ice cream and a glass of whiskey. Keeps up to 1 week in the fridge.

This incredibly easy dessert of berries and biscuits is delicious and a great option for a night in with friends or family. A classic flavor combination that goes perfectly with ice cream and a glass of whiskey. Keeps up to 1 week in the fridge.

In an oven-friendly skillet, pan, or dish mix together all ingredients for the berry mix except the vanilla. Mix evenly and cook on medium heat.

Once the berry skins begin to break down (about 10 minutes) add the vanilla and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pull your dish off the heat and glop in some balls of dough. You could try to make a pattern or even attempt to make the top of this dessert look pretty. This dough is super sticky so I decided to go with a more rustic/random distribution.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops of your biscuits are slightly browned.